Convertible body support



s. A. EKEHORN. CONVERTIBLE BODY SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 17, 1921.

Patentd Feb. 7, 1922.

' wvax m r Sven A-Ekehnrn /Z fi/Zg I W WA MWMO UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

SVEN A.,EKEHORN, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO DANIELB. SWARTZ, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

CONVERTIBLE BODY SUPPORT.

Application filed ma 17,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SVEN A. EKEHORN, a subject of the Kingdom of Sweden,and resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State ofVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inConvertible Body Supports; and I do hereby declare that the followlng 1sa full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The invention relates to improvements 1n convertible body supports, andmore particularly to a combination hammock and chair type of the same.

The principal object of the invention 18 toprovide for a comparativelyslmple and inexpensive form of combination hammock and chair of a natureto be readily convertible from a position for the supporting of the bodyof a person in an erect sitting or semi-reclining position to a positionfor the supporting of the body of the person 1n a fully reclinedposition, the convertible movement of the same being accompl shed, orotherwise controlled by the mere shifting of the weight of the body ofthe person to and from either of a sitting, semi-reclining or fullyreclined position on the same.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention resides inthe certain novel and useful construction and arrangement of parts aswill be hereinafter more fully described, set forth in the appendedclaim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 isa vertical section of the preferred embodiment of the invention taken onthe line 11 of Figure 2, and

Figure 2 is a front elevation thereof.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 10 indicates a front bar or rod,preferably circular in cross-section, 11 a pair of spaced parallel sidebars connecting the front bar or rod 10 at points slightly inward of theopposite ends thereof, and 12 a shaft journaled in the rear ends of theside bars 11 in parallel relation with respect to the front bar or rod10, all constituting the frame of the body support. Mounted forcomparatively free rotation on the shaft 12 is a roller 13 which isformed to provide pairs of spaced annular flanges 14 at its oppositeends, and secured to and wound on the roller 13, between the inner ofthe spaced flanges 1 1, is one end portion of a suitable length offabric 15, such as canvas or other Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented Feb. 7, 1922.

1921. Serial No. 470,429.

similar material, the other end of which is secured to the front bar orrod 10 of the frame. The length of canvas 15 is sufiioient to give fullsupport to the major portion of the body of a person under allconditions of its use for the purpose, and its width is equal to thelength of the roller 13 between the inner of the flanges 14.

The front end of the frame is adapted to be supported at a desiredheight from the floor or ground level by means of a flexible element 16,such as a chain,rcable or rope, which is preferably trained through aring support or member 17, and has its opposite ends secured, as at 18,at the ends of the bar or rod 10 outward of the points of connectiontherewith of the side bars 11. The rear end of the frame is adapted tobe supported by means of a similar flexible element 19 which is alsotrained through the ring support or member 17, and has its opposite endssecured to the roller 13, one between each of the pairs of annularflanges 14, which constitute pulleys for the winding and unwinding ofthe opposite endportions of the flexible element 19 thereon and conespondingly one end with respect to the other. A spacing bar 20 ispreferably threaded on the opposite depending portions of the flexibleelement 19 at a distance above and in substantial parallel relation withrespect to the roller 13, whereby to hold the lower depending portionsthereof, below the bar 20, spread apart one vertically parallel to theother.

In the use of the device as a hammock, the rear end portion of thecanvas 15 is normally wound on the roller 13, and the connected endportions of the flexible ele ment 19 unwound from the pulleys 14 thesaid end portions of thecanvas 15 and the flexible element being woundone in a direction opposite to the other whereby the unwinding action ofone imparts a winding action to the other, in which position,

the frame is rearwardly and upwardly inand the frame and the canvas willassume the position, approximately that of a comfortable chair, asindicated in dotted lines in Figure 1 of the drawing, when, upon againmoving the body to a rearwardly inclined position, the flexible element19 will unwind from the pulleys 14 and effect a rewinding of the canvasto its normal position.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation andmany advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art, without further description, and it will beunderstood that various changes in the size,

I shape, proportion and minor details of construction, may be resortedto without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of theadvantages of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is 2- A combination hammock andchair comportions of the second flexible element and the flexible bodysupport correspondingly with the shifting of the Weight of the body of aperson on said body in movements to and from sitting or recliningpositions thereon.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand atMilwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin.

' SVEN A. EKEHOR-N.

